“American Idiot” Head to the Big Screen?

“American Idiot” Head to the Big Screen?

Movie News

By our guest blogger, Joe Oliveto

While Green Day may have made a name for themselves in the '90s by signing pop-punk tunes about being a bored slacker, they considerably revamped their image with the release of 2004’s “American Idiot,” a politically charged concept album that provided the source material for the successful Broadway play of the same name.

Who would have predicted this during the days of “Dookie”?

Oh, well. While old-school fans of the group may still be lamenting the fact that this group has strayed from its punk roots in favor of the Billy Joel strategy, Americans in general have responded very positively to this incarnation of the band; it was only a matter of time before Hollywood took notice.

According to Deadline, a feature film version of “American Idiot” is being developed by Universal, with “Milk” screenwriter Dustin Lance Black writing the script and Michael Mayer, director of the stage version of the show, taking on directorial duties.

While there is no major word on casting as of now, it has been mentioned that the studio hopes to recruit Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong to play the role of the drug dealer St. Jimmy. He played the part a few times during the show’s stage run, leading to high ticket sales.

This project is still in the early stages of development but, barring some unforeseen complications, we can’t imagine anything slowing it down. “American Idiot” has been a tremendous Broadway success, and it’s no secret that plenty of fans who weren’t able to see the stage musical will be interested in checking out a cinematic adaptation of the material. Sure, musicals aren't exactly punk rock, but there's nothing wrong with a band exploring new territory; in fact, groups that stick to the same tired formula often lose our interest. Love 'em or hate 'em, Green Day have definitely kept our eyes on them these past few years.

We suppose old hits like “Long View” wouldn’t have lent themselves to impressive choreography, anyway.